Pentecostal Church Filadelfia keeps audio level

NORWAY: Filadelfia Kristiansand, referred to as the Pentecostal Church Filadelfia recently opened a media facility, dubbed Q42, in its hometown of Kristiansand. The facility includes a 1,300-seat concert hall as well as TV, radio and sound control studios and an edit suite. It is fully equipped to handle live video streaming and the recording of services for later broadcast on television and on 24-hour DAB Christian radio station Radio 3,16.

When researching audio meters for the new complex, the church’s technical advisor, Sigurd Schaathun, sought a tool that could balance loudness across a wide dynamic range due to the combination of music and speech during services. This led him to Jünger Audio’s digital audio processors, which are primarily aimed at the broadcast sector and feature the manufacturer’s Level Magic algorithm.

‘Two Jünger Audio D*AP4 LM digital audio processors control the audio levels of all content before it exits the building,’ reveals Mr Schaathun. ‘We had to juggle the budget to make room for this technology, but it was the best money we ever spent because it has delivered what we need: transparent loudness processing for our live stream, recordings and national DAB radio.’

The processors help Filadelfia Kristiansand to comply with the EBU R128 loudness standard for broadcast audio that is upheld across much of Europe. One of the D*AP4 LMs is configured for a pair of stereo signals: the -23 LUFS broadcast standard for linear television and the -15 LUFS for streaming online.

‘We bought one unit while the media centre was being built and used it in our makeshift studio,’ Mr Schaathun recalls. ‘The reaction from our audience was very positive. Our sound was pleasantly loud, yet not exhausting as many commercial channels are. When we decided to upgrade our local radio station to go national, the choice of loudness processor was simple – we bought a second D*AP4 LM unit, this time with Spectral Signature so that we could lightly colour our sound.’

While Jünger Audio’s Norwegian distributor, Lydrommet, installed the first D*AP4 LM unit, the second was installed and configured by the church itself. ‘Configuration was easy and straightforward’, confirms Mr Schaathun. ‘It was up and processing in less than 10 minutes. The web interface is intuitive and adjusting parameters was very easy, yet we have a powerful tool that enables us to make our sound the best it can possibly be.’